June 30, 2014

June 27, 2014

I was contacted by Mohawk Valley Trading Company a few weeks ago with the most incredible offer- they wanted me to review some of their raw honey and maple syrup products! Well, they didn't have to ask me twice... I was all over it :)

June 26, 2014

This post is really for people who've been paying attention to my musical life, and who want to hear something new from me.

If this is you, keep reading :) .....

I've mentioned before, but I've spent at least a few months in the SoulWriters group... which is an email chain between some musicians, providing a weekly word or phrase that you must use in a song, record, and send to the group before the deadline. I've written about 15 new songs in the past few months! Some I like, some I hate, some I want to change and shape more.

Of course, in recent years I've only ever shared things I've collaborated with a producer or engineer on. So everything you've heard thus far has been polished to a spit-shine.

Even so, I feel like I want to share some these new little "demos." I know they're imperfect. I know that I'm sitting on a whole EP of "perfect" songs that I've been telling you about for months. But I want to share this in the meantime.

I have no idea if anyone would want to listen to this or not. The recording quality... well, I'm no audio expert. And everything is basically one take through.

It's a work in progress :)

If you like it, you can download it. If you do, please pass along.

Maybe there will be more.

(I'm actually really nervous to post this! But I WILL press "publish" ... I will... I will... )

June 25, 2014

I was always skeptical of toner. I thought- "What does it actually do?" I was convinced it was just another one of those useless things that corporations came up with to sell more products and make more money. But as part of my collaboration with Belmondo, I received some of their toner, and now I'm a total convert. So why do I like it?

#1 It's refreshing- especially when straight out of the refrigerator, and especially in the summer months!#2 It can bring an extra somethin' somethin' to a dull complexion by minimizing pores and smoothing things out.#3 If you use the right ingredients for your skin type, it can help with problems like dryness, excess oil, or acne.

After thinking about all this, I was really excited to tinker with a few recipes of my own!

All those herbs made my kitchen smell wonderful!

I decided to incorporate mostly herbal bases, because I've been using them for years, and believe in the medicinal healing properties of the ones that I used- chamomile, mint, and rosemary. Taking these herbs internally has always been wonderfully beneficial for me, so I was interested to see how they wold work topically.

Also as always, I love these recipes because you can use things that you might already have at home-

+ Boil about a half cup of water per toner solution (so if you're making three toners like I did, then you need 1 1/2 cups.) Put two heaping teaspoons of herbs in each cup. + When the water boils, divide it evenly over each set of herbs... kind of like you're making tea! + You want the solution to be as strong as possible, so let everything steep until cooled.+ When cool, use a strainer to strain the solution into a new cup. + Squeeze the juice from one grapefruit.+ Juice (or dice into strips) one cucumber.

*Note- you can use tea balls if you don't have a strainer. However, with tea balls there will usually be loose little herb bits floating around. Nothing wrong with that... if you're using a spray bottle, it might clog it up.

Rosemary Witch Hazel Toner

+ Add 1 Tsp of witch hazel to your rosemary solution.

The witch hazel has a strong smell, and some people prefer just the rosemary alone, so you can omit it. However, it is the classic toner ingredient, and a lot of people use it straight on their skin. If you have oily skin, you can add more, and if your skin is dry, add less.

Chamomile Cucumber Toner

+ Add 1 Tbs of cucumber juice to your chamomile solution. + If you don't have a juicer, you can always just dice up some strips and stick them in to infuse overnight! I tried this, and found that it made the toner look a bit like pickles. Haha! If this is cool with you, go for it!

This is a soothing toner for sensitive skin- the chamomile is an anti-inflammatory, and the cucumber reduces puffiness.

Peppermint Grapefruit Toner

+ Add 1 Tbs Grapefruit juice to your peppermint solution.

Aside from being two invigorating scents, both of these ingredients are good astringents, and will help with acne problems.

These can be store in refrigerator, for up to a week (I usually do longer ;) Plus, the cold spritz makes all the difference in the world!

June 23, 2014

There was a time when I used to love dressing up, all fancy and movie-star like.

But then there was a boy... (yada, yada...) and I started slowly altering my style to try be kind of girl that I thought he might like. Anything "girly" went directly in the garbage. I recoiled from the color pink. Spurned glitter anything. Stopped wearing makeup. Changed my hair. Changed so much about myself.

And after all that, I still never ended up with him. He always chose someone else.

June 18, 2014

I love (love, love, love) hot baths. And good news! They're not just for recreation- they're also an age-old health remedy. They are one of the easiest and most effective ways to reduce anxiety and calm your nerves. The heat and water is such a super healing combination ... not even having to leave the house is a plus, too.